How to say "neutral flavor" in Korean

Question

I was eating this bread, and the thought that came to my mind was "wow, this bread doesn't taste like anything; there's no particular flavor." It had a very light, neutral taste. I want to say "bland," but not in a negative sense. (I enjoyed the taste of this bread.)

How would I express this in Korean? The first two things I can think of don't seem right:

• 맛이 없다: usually negative connotation, more like "tastes bad; tasteless"
• 싱겁다: also seems like negative connotation

I actually prefer the taste of this bread because it lacked the strong buttery dairy taste typical of most Korean baked goods. So I'm afraid if I use either of the phrases above, it would not convey the meaning I intended. Especially 맛이 없다, since it is idiomatic for "tastes bad."

It might be a cultural thing because Koreans tend to prefer strong flavors.

Answer 1

Not sure if this matches what you want, but there's a word 담백하다.

It means "lacking (unnecessary) strong taste", i.e., not too salty, not spiced, no (or very little) peppers, etc. It is also a very positive word.

For example, you could say "이 물김치는 담백해서 좋아요." for a white (or nearly white) kimchi. You'd probably not want to use the word for ordinary 배추김치.

Answer 2

You can say '특별한 맛이 안나다' which means it tastes without particular flavors. It doesn't imply a negative meaning.

특별한(specific) 맛이 (taste) 안나다 (not to be)

Answer 3

Personally. I've never heard people say "빵이 담백하다" in my entire life. Even if it is used in that way (by a small number of people), it would mean it is not too salty nor too sweet. It also sounds weird as if 빵 were a beef soup (소고기 국) with white radish or something similar.

담백하다 could mean many things, but it basically means the food you are eating is light (tasteless, and not salty) . When you describe taste, you have to apply a Korean word on a case-by-case basis. I would rather say,

이 빵은 내 입맛에 맞아요. Literally (The taste of this bread agrees with me).

or

이 빵은 내가 좋아하는 맛이에요. Literally (The taste of this bread is the taste I like)

People have different taste and preference. I think "내 입맛에 맞아요" is the best expression for the situation you described as other people might not agree with your preference.

Answer 4

담백하다 or 삼삼하다 would be the most appropriate translation.

담백하다: 음식이 느끼하지(greasy) 않고 산뜻하다(fresh).

삼삼하다: 음식 맛이 조금 싱거운 듯하면서 맛이 있다.(It tastes like a little bit bland, but it still tastes good.)